City beaten in 1946 Poppy Day match

No one could complain about the level of football displayed by the MFA XI against Valletta on November 3, 1946 in the season’s curtain-raiser.

This game was played annually in aid of the Poppy Day Fund between the league champions and a Representative XI. Usually this was a service XI.

That season, however, the association decided to pair Valletta with the MFA XI in preparation for that season’s Christmas Tourney and the Victory Cup competition which was due to be held in May between the National XI and the representatives of the three services.

Valletta were the best team on the island and were expected to beat a rather experimental MFA selection. Certainly, no one could have predicted that they would be beaten 5-1 but one must say that the score was rather flattering for MFA XI.

Indeed, there was not such a big disparity between the two teams as the final score suggested.

The match attracted a huge crowd to the stadium and, as it turned out, it was very much worth their money because it developed into a very keen game.

Valletta were the first to attack. They raced past the MFA defenders at will and in the opening 10 minutes, they buzzed around the Reds penalty area.

During this period, when the national selection was still trying to find its feet, all the exchanges went in favour of Valletta and on two occasions it was the woodwork which denied the Citizens a goal.

However, once this early siege receded, the MFA XI came more and more into the game and it was not long before they started to expose their opponents’ weakness in defence.

Sam Rodgers and Ġużi Demicoli, both big and sturdy fellows, were rather slow in recovery and found it hard to contain the speed and enthusiasm of Ninu Calleja.

The young Naxxar Lions centre-forward played a blinder, scoring a hat-trick by half-time. His third goal was described as the best of the season.

Buttigieg beat his direct opponent. He moved to the left, drawing the Valletta defence with him. Then, at the precise moment, he slipped the ball to Calleja who cheekily beat Doddy Calleja with a perfectly-placed ball that sailed beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

In the second half, the Citizens came out fighting. They launched a series of attacks and scored a goal through Ġużi Vassallo. They should have reduced the margin further. Luck, however, was not on their side.

It was a pity from Valletta’s point of view that Ninu Calleja was in such devastating mood. Then still at the start of his career, he notched the fourth goal in such a way that he made it look so easy to beat the City defenders.

Finally, Buttigieg rounded the tally with a fifth goal scored from a free-kick. His rasping shot flew past the defensive wall and into the top right-hand corner of the net.

This game augured well for the national team’s other commitments that season against Zabrovresky in the Christmas Tourney and in the Victory Cup competition.